ST. LOUIS, April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Brown Group, Inc. (NYSE: BG) today
announced divisional retail sales results for the five-week period ended
April 4, 1998 compared to the same period ended April 5, 1997.  Brown Group's
retail operations include Famous Footwear, an 810-store chain selling
brand-name family footwear for less, and Naturalizer, a 338-store chain
selling the Naturalizer brand of women's footwear.
    Retail sales for Famous Footwear in March were $82,000,000 compared to
$84,900,000 last March, a decrease of 3.4 percent.  Same-store sales declined
7.4 percent.  Year-to-date sales for Famous Footwear for the nine-week period
ended April 4, 1998 increased 1.5 percent to $137,800,000 from $135,800,000
and were down 3.0 percent on a same-store basis.
    The Naturalizer retail division's sales of $13,600,000 in March were up
8.8 percent compared to $12,500,000 last March.  Same-store sales were up
5.9 percent.  For the first nine weeks of fiscal 1998, Naturalizer stores'
sales were up 6.5 percent to $21,200,000 from $19,900,000 and increased
4.0 percent on a same-store basis.
    Announcement of these results was made by Harry E. Rich, Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer, who said:
    "The March same-store sales decline at Famous Footwear was about at the
planned level.  It reflects the shift of the Easter selling season from March
last year to April this year and the resulting lower March traffic in strip
centers and outlet malls.  We expect the April same-store sales comparison at
Famous Footwear to reflect a double-digit gain, and early April results have
been very encouraging.
    "At Naturalizer Retail, solid sales gains reflect the increasing strength
of the Naturalizer brand.  New casual Naturalizer styles, sandals, and
NaturalSPORT athletic product sold very well in March, leading to a
5.9 percent same-store sales gain for the month.  Consistent with the Easter
shift in traffic, same-store sales at our outlet stores declined 9.5 percent
in March, but same-store sales rose 9.0 percent in our mall stores.  Easter
week sales also have been higher than planned at Naturalizer Retail."
    Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995:
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are
subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially.  These include general economic conditions, competition,
consumer apparel and footwear buying trends, and political and economic
conditions in Brazil and China, which are significant footwear sourcing
countries.  The Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission
from time to time contain detailed information relating to such factors.
    Brown Group, Inc. is a $1.6 billion footwear company with worldwide
operations.  The Company operates the Famous Footwear, Naturalizer and F.X.
LaSalle chains of footwear retail stores and markets leading brands including
Naturalizer, Life Stride, NaturalSPORT, le coq sportif athletic footwear,
Buster Brown, and licensed brands including Dr. Scholl's, Disney and Star Wars
character footwear.
    Brown Group, Inc. press releases are available by fax through PR
Newswire's Company News On-Call fax service at 800-758-5804, extension 109435.
Brown Group, Inc. information also is available on the Company's web site at
http://www.browngroup.com.


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